Demolition of a historic Whitefish Bay home moves forward after an unsuccessful appeal effort

A historic home on Whitefish Bay's shoreline will be demolished, as Whitefish Bay officials have dismissed a last-minute appeal from historic preservationists who wanted to save it.

The village's Architectural Review Commission unanimously voted April 9 to issue a demolition permit to John Brodersen, who for the past 18 months has sought permission to tear down his house at 4640 N. Lake Drive.

The home is one of four homes on the village's historical registry. Brodersen, who also owns a home next door, purchased the house for $1.65 million in 2016, nine years after it was placed on the village's historic registry.

The English Tudor Revival-style house, built in 1928, was designed by architect Richard Philipp, who also designed the Holy Hill Monastery and The American Club in Kohler.

Brodersen said he wants to build a new house on the property, similar to what he did with a house next door at 4646 N. Lake Drive.

This was Brodersen's third application to the ARC, and the first one that commissioners felt met the criteria of the village's historic preservation ordinance.

"I don’t know that any of us feel great about a historic structure being torn down," said ARC Chairwoman Lauren Triebenbach. "But this is not about our personal opinion. It's based on the ordinance."

Multiple attempts

The ordinance states a demolition permit cannot be issued for a historic property unless the applicant has made good faith efforts for at least 60 days to find a buyer who agrees to preserve, relocate or otherwise rehabilitate the historic building.

For his third application, Brodersen hired real estate agent Suzanne Powers to professionally clean, stage and photograph the property, showing it to 100 people during 12 open houses and 219 days on the market. The electrical and plumbing systems were also fixed.

Powers eventually lowered the price to $1.39 million, which is $260,000 less than what Brodersen paid in 2016.

One offer

The home received one offer in summer 2019 for $800,000. That buyer expressed a willingness to go up to $1 million in a February email to Powers, but the higher offer was not presented in writing until two days before the April 9 ARC meeting.

When the ARC granted the demolition permit, the Historic Preservation Commission appealed to the Village Board to overturn the decision at its May 18 meeting.

At that meeting, Brodersen’s attorney, Josh Levy, said the arguments presented by the Historic Preservation Commission were not based on whether Brodersen made good faith efforts to sell the house. Rather, they were based on a nostalgia for historic buildings, Levy contested.

“They question the idea of preserving the historic structures of Whitefish Bay as a whole,” he said.

'It's an eyesore'

Brodersen has said the home would be too costly to repair. The home needs $1.2 million in renovations, including the remediation of lead, asbestos and mold, and the installation of new wiring, plumbing and sewer laterals, according to consultant Rob Ruvin.

When asked if the house had mold in it when he bought it, Brodersen said it did have mold, and that he bought it in "as-is" condition because he was not planning to rehabilitate or sell the structure.

"This thing has been a nightmare since day one, and that’s the reason I want it gone," Brodersen said. "It’s an eyesore."

Tom Fehring, a member of the Historic Preservation Commission, argued that the property did not sell for $1.4 million because the property is no longer worth that amount.

When Fehring toured the house, he said the electricity wasn't on, and he had to sign a waiver acknowledging he was aware of the home's mold problem.

"You don’t sell a $1.4 million house in that condition," Fehring said.

Appeal denied

Fehring also suggested village officials apply to have the house placed on the Wisconsin Historic Registry or the National Historic Registry, which has tax credits that could be used for restoration.

The board voted 4-3 to deny the appeal. Trustees Will Demet, Garry Davis and Tara Serebin voted against the motion, in favor of the Historic Preservation Commission.

When the house is demolished, the materials will be donated to Habitat for Humanity Restore.